The Prisoners of Mainz

audiobook

The Prisoners of Mainz

by Alec Waugh

EN·~4 hours·18 chapters

Chapters

18 total
1

(etext transcriber's note)

0:26
2

A BALLADE OF DEDICATION TO MY FELLOW-GEFANGENER A. H. CHANDLER

1:38
3

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

0:30
4

THE PRISONERS OF MAINZ - CHAPTER I THE GREAT OFFENSIVE - § 1

16:00
5

CHAPTER II ON THE WAY TO THE RHINE - § 1

17:23
6

CHAPTER III KARLSRUHE AND MILTON HAYES

8:34
7

CHAPTER IV THE HUNGRY DAYS - § 1

16:45
8

CHAPTER V THE PITT LEAGUE - § 1

26:10
9

CHAPTER VI THE GERMAN ATTITUDE

8:36
10

CHAPTER VII PARCELS - § 1

14:41

Description

In the cramped citadel of Mainz, a handful of British officers and men endure the slow, grinding rhythm of captivity after the great 1918 offensive. Through wry verses and keen observation, the narrator captures the contrast between the stale routine of roll‑calls, soup lines and the lingering taste of Rhine wine they manage to share in secret. The early chapters follow their adjustment to gas‑mask drills, uneasy mornings under the threat of gas, and the uneasy humor that steadies them as the front stalls.

Beyond the daily grind, the book delves into the bonds forged in the prison’s alcoves—friendships that survive jokes about “the great offensive” and whispered plans for daring escapes. Illustrated with sketches of the grim barracks, the billiard room and the ever‑present barbed wire, the narrative offers a vivid, human picture of wartime perseverance without revealing the later outcomes of their struggle.

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Details

Language

en

Duration

~4 hours (267K characters)

Publisher of text edition

Project Gutenberg

Credits

Produced by Chuck Greif, MWS and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.)

Release date

2017-02-20

Rights

Public domain in the USA.

About the author

Alec Waugh

Alec Waugh

1898–1981

Best known for candid school stories, wide-ranging travel books, and the novel that became the film Island in the Sun, this prolific British writer built a career that lasted more than sixty years. His work often mixed sharp social observation with a restless curiosity about places, people, and changing ways of life.

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